U.S. patent number 4,616,288 [Application Number 06/581,354] was granted by the patent office on 1986-10-07 for surge voltage protection means for attachment to a main distribution frame.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft. Invention is credited to Hans Scholtholt, Ewald Steiner.
United States Patent |
4,616,288 |
Scholtholt , et al. |
October 7, 1986 |
Surge voltage protection means for attachment to a main
distribution frame
Abstract
A surge voltage protection device for attachment to a main
distribution frame having connection terminals disposed in a
plurality of parallel rows and permitting non-stripped connection
of electrical conductors. The device of the present invention can
be built into the main distribution frame or can be added later,
and includes fuse strips which contain arresters cooperating with
connection terminals of the main distribution frame, the
arrangement being such that the device can be applied at the front
side or back side of the main distribution frame.
Inventors: |
Scholtholt; Hans (Lohhof,
DE), Steiner; Ewald (Berg, DE) |
Assignee: |
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
(Berlin & Munich, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
6195025 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/581,354 |
Filed: |
February 17, 1984 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
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Mar 29, 1983 [DE] |
|
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3311488 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
361/119; 379/332;
379/327; 439/374; 361/824 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04Q
1/146 (20130101); H01T 4/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01T
4/00 (20060101); H01T 4/06 (20060101); H04Q
1/02 (20060101); H04Q 1/14 (20060101); H05F
003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;361/119,120,415,413,426
;179/98 ;339/65,66R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Tolin; G. P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hill, Van Santen, Steadman &
Simpson
Claims
We claim as our invention:
1. A distribution block including surge voltage protection means,
and a main distribution frame, said block comprising:
a plurality of parallel rows of connection terminals for connection
of incoming and outgoing electrical wires,
a guide frame attached to said main distribution frame and
including
fuse strips having arresters carried thereon, each fuse strip being
plugged into a separate row of said connection terminals,
each fuse strip in its inserted condition providing contact with
each connection terminal in a row and connecting each connection
terminal to ground through an arrester, said guide frame includes
two U-shaped fastening parts, and lateral portions extending
between said fastening parts, said lateral portions having inwardly
disposed guide grooves receiving said fuse strips.
2. A distribution block according to claim 1 wherein:
each fuse strip includes an insulating member,
grounding elements connecting said connection terminals with said
arresters,
a U-shaped grounding plate having laterally disposed grounding
contacts, said plate being received over said insulating
member,
said insulating member further including cylindrical socket means
receiving said arresters, a receptacle with grooves extending from
said socket means in the direction of said connection terminals for
accommodating grounding elements, and guide webs at both its ends
for engaging with said guide grooves of said guide frame.
3. A distribution block according to claim 2 wherein:
said grounding elements each include a grounding terminal
projecting out from one of said fuse strips, a spring contact
plate, and a web connecting said spring contact plate with said
grounding terminal, said grounding terminal having a bifurcated end
located in a plane parallel to a cross-sectional surface of said
fuse strip, said spring contact plates being received in said
grounding terminals with their planes extending essentially in the
plane of the underside of said insulating member.
4. A distribution block according to claim 3 which includes:
an insulation foil disposed between the underside of said
insulating member and said grounding plate.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of surge voltage protection devices
suitable for attachment to a main distribution frame and providing
for rapid engagement and disengagement without the necessity of
patching.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A main distribution frame having connection terminals disposed in a
plurality of parallel rows and permitting non-strip connection of
electrical conductors is known, for example, from DE-OS No. 28 14
018. The provision of surge voltage protection for such a main
distribution frame can only be effected at considerable cost since
components containing voltage arresters must be put in by patching.
As a result, additional patching wire terminals are required at the
main distribution frame so that the overall terminal capacity is
reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a surge voltage protection means for
attachment to a main distribution frame of the type previously
described which is distinguished by a simple format and whose
utilization required no additional patching measures.
In the present invention, there is provided a guide frame
attachable to the main distribution frame and including fuse strips
having arresters carried thereon, each fuse strip being pluggable
into a sepatate row of the connection terminals, with each fuse
strip in its inserted condition providing contact with each
connection terminal in a row and connecting each connection
terminal to ground through an arrester.
The improved surge voltage protection means of the present
invention has the advantage that additional patching wire terminals
are not required and a subsequent attachment of arresting devices
to existing main distribution frames is possible without extensive
patching. A further advantage of the improved surge voltage
protection device of the present invention is that it requires no
additional mounting surfaces.
One of the features of the present invention is the fact that a
guide frame can be applied both to the front side as well as to the
back side of the main distribution frame. When attached to the
back, connection terminals are extended toward the back, and
specially designed grounding elements are provided which cooperate
with the connection terminals.
One of the advantages of applying the surge voltage protection
means of the present invention to the back side of a main
distribution frame is that patching work at the main distribution
frame is not complicated by the surge voltage protection means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be explained in greater detail in
connection with a showing in the attached drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of a main distribution
frame, a guide frame, and fuse strip wherein the surge voltage
protection device is attached to the front of the main distribution
frame;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective of a main distribution
frame, guide frame, and fuse strip wherein the surge voltage
protection device is attached to the back side of the main
distribution frame;
FIG. 3 is a view in perspective, partially broken away, of a fuse
strip comprising a portion of the improved surge voltage protection
means; and
FIGS. 4 to 6, inclusive, are perspective illustrations of further
details of the surge voltage protection means according to the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates generally a main
distribution frame to which the surge voltage protection device of
the present invention is to be attached. Only the upper half of the
main distribution frame 1 is shown. As may be seen from FIG. 1, the
main distribution frame 1 comprises a plurality of terminal rows 2
disposed in parallel relationship, each having sockets for
connection terminals 3. In the illustrated example, the connection
terminals 3 are in the form of dual connection terminals.
Also shown in FIG. 1 are the upper part of a guide frame 4 as well
as a fuse strip 10 which carry the arresters as will be described
in a succeeding portion of this specification. The guide frame 4
consists of two U-shaped fastening parts 8, only the upper
fastening part being shown in FIG. 1, and also two lateral parts 5.
The lateral parts 5 have inwardly disposed guide grooves 6 which
have loading slopes at their front end for an improved engagement
with the fuse strips 10. In the illustrated form of the invention,
the two fastening parts 8 are screwed to the main distribution
frame 1 and the distance between the frame and the guide frame 4 is
defined by means of a spacing bushing 22. The fastening parts 8
contain centering nubs 9 which can be placed in engagement with
sockets of the main distribution frame 1 and serve the purpose of
centering the surge voltage protection means.
FIG. 1 also illustrates a fuse strip 10 that can be plugged into
the guide frame 4. The fuse strip 10 essentially consists of an
insulating member 14 and of a U-shaped grounding plate 11 mounted
thereover. The exact structure of the fuse strip 10 will be
explained later in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4. The insulating
member 14 of the fuse strip 10 contains guide webs at its sides
that engage with the guide grooves 6 of the guide frame 4 when the
fuse strip 10 is inserted into the guide frame 4. Grounding
contacts 13 are stamped out at the right and left on the upper side
of the U-shaped grounding plate 11, the grounding contacts 13
fitting into contact openings 7 when the fuse strip 10 is plugged
into the guide frame 4 and thus producing the contact between the
grounding plate 11 and the guide frame 4. The metallic guide frame
4 is connected to ground potential.
FIG. 2 illustrates the disposition of the main distribution frame
1, the guide frame 4, and the fuse strip 10 relative to each other
where the surge voltage protection device is to be attached to the
back of the main distribution frame 1. The structure of the guide
frame 4 and of the fuse strips 10 is the same for a frontal as well
as a back side attachment of the surge voltage protection means. In
the case of back side attachment, it is merely necessary that the
connection terminals 3 of the main distribution frame 1 be extended
toward the back in order to enable connection to the fuse strip 10.
A possible extension of a connection terminal 3 toward the back is
indicated at reference numeral 21 in FIG. 6. This extension lies in
the plane of the connection terminal 3 and is of planar
configuration having a generally V-shaped forward end 24 with
slanted edges therealong.
The backside attachment of the surge voltage protection device can
only be subsequently implemented with difficulty, but it does
enable a simpler patching to the main distribution frame 1 for a
new installation of the main distribution frame.
The structure of a fuse strip will be described in connection with
FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows two broken views of the insulation
member 14 whereby one view is rotated by 180.degree. relative to
the other. The insulation member 14 includes cylindrical sockets
for arresters 16 as well as groove-like receptacles for grounding
elements 17. The grounding elements 17 shown in FIG. 4 consist of a
bifurcated end portion 12 and a spring contact plate 18 which are
connected to one another by means of a web portion. The grounding
element 17 is thereby dimensioned so that the grounding terminal 12
projects from the insulation member 14. The plane of the grounding
terminal 12 lies parallel to a cross-sectional surface of the fuse
strip 10. The result is that the planes of the grounding terminals
12 and the planes of the connection terminals 3 as well as their
extensions are perpendicular to each other. This enables a simple
contacting of the grounding terminals 12 to the connection
terminals 3 such as shown from FIGS. 5 and 6. The contacting points
between a grounding terminal 12 and a connection terminal 3 are
identified at reference numeral 23 in FIGS. 5 and 6.
The web connecting the grounding terminal 12 and the spring contact
plate 18 is angled twice so that the force acting on the grounding
terminal 12 when the fuse strip 10 is plugged in is intercepted.
The plane of the spring contact plate 18 lies essentially in the
plane formed by the underside of the insulating member 14 so that
the spring contact plate 18 forms a contact to an annular electrode
of an arrester 16. An insulating foil 19 is disposed between the
underside of the insulating member 14 and the lower part of the
U-shaped grounding plate 11. After a fuse strip 10 has been plugged
in, the discharge current path is as follows: the current proceeds
over the incoming line, the connection terminal 3, the grounding
terminal 12, the spring contact plate 18, the arrester 16, the
grounding plate 11 with its lateral grounding contacts 13, and the
guide frame 4 which is connected to the grounded distribution
frame.
From the foregoing, it will be understood that the surge voltage
protection device of the present invention is readily attachable to
a main distribution frame and is characterized by a simple format
as well as secure electrical contact.
It will be evident that various modifications can be made to the
described embodiments without departing from the scope of the
present invention.
* * * * *